The Hydrogen Hoax by Robert Zubrin in current issue of current issue of The New Atlantis

> From: Alex Michael Bonnici
> http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/15/zubrin.htm

"Unfortunately, it's all pure bunk."

A pity much can be said about this article. Mr Zubrin is once again twisting
facts to fit his own agenda. First generation nuclear plants were designed
to produce not electricity (though that was a fringe benifit) but plutinium
for nuclear bombs, and to fit inside nuclear submarines. Safer, simplier,
cheaper but bulkier pebble-bed reactors were ignored.

"But all the hydrogen on Earth, except that in hydrocarbons, has already
been oxidized, so none of it is available as fuel."

Sadly, since it is such a reactive compound, all the oxygen on the planet
faced a similar fate hundreds of billions of years ago and hence none of us
were ever born. Oh, wait, that didn't happen did it? Photosynthesis solved
that problem. There's a good chance it can do the same for hydrogen, even if
nothing else does.

"the current price of commercial grade hydrogen is about $100 per kilogram."

Didn't you just say it was $6 per kilo? Petrol is impure. I'm sure H2 cars
can suffer with less than perfection. And Mr Zubrin seems willfully ignorant
of the meaning of the term 'mass production'.

"Because hydrogen is actually made by reforming hydrocarbons"

Hasn't he just told us there are other ways to make it? Oh dearr. The lies
and straw men just keep piling up don't they?

"Fortunately, on this front, there is good news, if only we have the will to
be serious."

Where 'serious' in this case translates to 'do everything Zubrin says and
burn anyone caught considdering an alternatives as a heratic.'

"This could most efficiently be done simply by mandating that all new cars
sold in the United States be flex-fueled."

Add 'plug in hybrid' to that requirement and you have a winner.

"Islamists to spread fanatical ideology, we could give our business to the
world's farmers,"

I take it Mr Zubrin is also willfully ignorant of the slave-trade in africa
(which contrary to US history books, did not end with Mr Lincoln efforts,
noble as they were) and the disagreeable situation in South America with
reguards to corruption and kidnapping. Dumping hundreds of billions of
dollars into either economy is hardly going to magically improve either
situation. Especially if America et all employ a cack-handed policy of
trying to run the governments in question like puppet nations, as it tried
to do in the Middle East.

Interestingly, Mr Zubrin ignores the problems of keeping the supply of US
fuel inside America. Not only is self-reliance a good thing economically and
politically - but the days when American can command the markets are growing
numbered. India, China and even Europe (laugh all you want) will require as
much if not more fuel than the US. America can't depend on always getting
first pick of external food sources, especially if it's going to be churlish
about paying more than a few dollars per gallon.

John